“I believe in my hard work, and I believe I’m going to do pretty well there,” Souza told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) through an interpreter at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference for “Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine,” which took place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

If his performance on Saturday night was any indication, Souza is destined to do much better than that. Facing 13-time UFC veteran Ed Herman, Souza looked absolutely dominant. The former DREAM and Strikeforce middleweight champion was nearly flawless in a first-round submission win.

Things got bad for Herman early, as Souza scored an early takedown and looked to work from top position. As Herman scrambled underneath, he landed a clearly illegal upkick that actually worked in his favor, as referee Mark Carter inexplicably not only elected not to deduct a point but also restarted the fight on the feet rather than returning Souza to the dominant position he had earned.

Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter, as Souza answered with a powerful slamming takedown and settling immediately into side control. The two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship winner then smothered Herman’s escape attempts and immediately latched on to an arm, cranking a painful-looking kimura that eventually solicited a tap from “Short Fuse” at the 3:10 mark of the opening round.

The victory ended Souza’s run in Strikeforce at 7-1, with the lone loss coming in a tightly-contested 25-minute matchup with the man that took his belt, Luke Rockhold.

According to Souza’s camp, his migration to the octagon was assured even before his dominant win over Herman. But with Strikeforce’s doors now shuttered, an emphatic victory assures “Jacare” (which is actually Portuguese for “alligator”) will enter the UFC with a much-deserved buzz surrounding his debut.

Souza said he’s looking forward to setting up shop in his new home.

“There’s a lot of good opponents there,” Souza said. “But I’m going there to break some people down. I believe the time is just right.

“I’ve got a lot of experience, I have great fights, and now I’m ready to go to the UFC and do my best.”

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